The distributors of Buckfast have started legal action against Scottish police
after complaining the controversial tonic wine was being subjected to a
“form of ethnic cleansing”.

J Chandler & Co lodged a case with the Court of Session in Edinburgh calling for Strathclyde Police to be barred from adding anti-crime labels to bottles of the beverage.

The tamper-proof stickers allow officers to trace bottles associated with crime to the store from which they were purchased. Buckfast, which contains caffeine, has been linked to youth disorder particularly in the west of Scotland.

However, the distributors argued yesterday that the police are stigmatising their product and illegally ordering retailers to withdraw it if they refuse to use the stickers.

In 2010, the force said the tonic wine, which is made by monks in Devon, had been mentioned in more than 5,000 crime reports over the previous three years.

Jim Wilson, of J Chandler & Co, said yesterday: “If they were doing it to all bottle, to all products of an alcoholic origin then that would be fair.

“We have the feeling that it’s a form of ethnic cleansing of brands of alcohol that police and politicians don’t like.”

He said Buckfast was only mentioned in 0.04 per cent of incidents reported to the police and they include incidents where a bottle has been stolen.

The firm has applied to the court for an interdict preventing police marking Buckfast bottles. If the force refuses, the distributors plan to “go to a full-blown court case”.

It became aware of the stickers after being contacted by a disgruntled shop owner, although police sources insisted they are voluntary.

The 15 per cent alcohol beverage recorded a record £39 million sales in the 2011/12 tax year, with Mr Wilson estimating that around half the bottles produced are sold north of the Border.

Strathclyde Police said they were unable to comment before receiving a court summons but Les Gray, the former head of the Scottish Police Federation, said the drink was viewed as a “badge of honour” among young hooligans.

“Buckfast, the distributors and the lawyers who act on behalf of the monks refuse, point blank, to take any responsibility for the anti-social behaviour that's caused by the distribution and the consumption of Buckfast,” he said.

“Buckfast is a scourge on the young folk, they drink it to excess because of the alcohol content the caffeine content and basically it drives them crazy. They spend half the night running amok, engaging in anti-social behaviour.”

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said: “Buckfast's distributors need to call off the dogs and accept responsibility for the damaging effect their product has on local communities.

"Bullying the police force tasked with cleaning up the mess of anti-social behaviour caused by binge drinking stands in total opposition with the spirit of the Benedictine monks who founded the tonic wine.”